Chlorinated hydrocarbons including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) and volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons represent considerable health and environmental risks. Their destruction normally requires fairly high temperature oxidation in the presence of a supported catalyst such as chromium oxide supported on alumina or other types of supports. Hunter et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,513 has reported a process using a particular type of reactor design and chromium oxide catalyst deposited on alumina for a procedure for burning catalytically chlorinated hydrocarbons including PCB's. His apparatus requires a continuously fluidized bed of catalytic particles and is accomplished at temperatures ranging between 900.degree. F. and 1400.degree. F. (468.degree. C.-745.degree. C.
Vanadium oxide catalysts have been used in a variety of catalytic processes for further combustion of hydrocarbon exhaust gases. In particular, vanadium oxide has been used in catalytic converters for automobiles as an alternative to the platinum catalyst which is commonly used today. In those situations the vanadium catalyst is deposited on supports and the hot exhaust gases are allowed to pass over the vanadium catalyst in the presence of excess oxygen to promote oxidation of the hydrocarbons to water and carbon dioxide. Cannon et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,300 disclosed an ammonium meta-vanadate catalyst supported on an aluminia support for the oxidation of effluent exhaust gases from internal combustion engines. Batchelder et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,942,933 has also reported the use of vanadium catalysts for the oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide in exhaust gases. Likewise, Innes, U.S. Pat. No. 3,025,132 has disclosed use of supported vanadium catalysts for the oxidation of effluent gases.
All these applications using vanadium catalysts in the field of automotive exhaust emission control require temperatures in the range of 100.degree.-200.degree. C. This is a practical limit for a vanadium oxide supported catalyst in that these types of catalyst coatings become volatile and/or reactive at temperatures above 300.degree. C. and volatize at temperatures above 500.degree. C. In fact, in the presence of hydrochloric acid (HCl) or chlorine (Cl.sub.2), the vanadium catalysts will lose vanadium as a volatile vanadium compound such as VOCl.sub.3. It should also be noted that the oxidation of chlorinated hydrocarbons is normally performed at temperatures considerably higher than a vanadium catalyst could withstand without volatization.
It thus appears desirable to have not only a low temperature process for the deep oxidation of chlorinated hydrocarbons, but also to have a stabilized form of vanadium oxide with low volatility to accomplish this type of oxidation. This type of catalytic environment would not only represent a major advancement in the destruction of noxious chlorinated hydrocarbons such as chlorinated biphenyl, but also for most of the low molecular weight, highly volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons used as industrial solvents.